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Best Travel Accessories Worth Buying (And the Ones to Skip)

The travel accessories worth buying — cable organisers, adapters, packing cubes, luggage tags and more. Skip the gimmicks, buy the essentials. Updated 2026.

By Peter Adesokan · Updated June 15, 2026

Last updated: June 2026

Quick answer: The travel accessories worth buying are the ones that solve a real problem he has on every trip: a quality multi-region adapter, a flat cable organiser, a slim travel wallet, a leather luggage tag, and compression packing cubes. The ones to skip are anything designed for a single scenario (the packing “hacks” you use once), overly large organisers that add bulk, and novelty travel gadgets that looked useful in a YouTube video. The rule is simple: if he’d reach for it on every trip, buy the best version. If not, skip it.

This guide covers the accessories that genuinely earn their place in a travel kit, with specific recommendations in each category.

The case for accessorising a travel kit properly

Most men have a functional-but-chaotic travel kit: cables loose in a side pocket, adapters from three different countries floating in a bag, passport crammed into a wallet that’s too small. The right accessories remove this friction permanently.

The criteria for an accessory worth buying:

  • He uses it on every single trip. Not the camping trip or the ski holiday — on every trip he takes.
  • It solves a specific problem he actually has. Lost cables, dead batteries, overstuffed bags, bag-check anxiety.
  • It’s better than his current solution. Not marginally — noticeably.

The one-line rule: Every accessory should solve a real problem, look good doing it, and earn its place on every trip — if it misses any of those three, it’s clutter.

The travel accessories worth owning

1. Cable and charger organiser (highest immediate impact)

The single highest-friction area in most men’s travel kits is cables. A flat-lay organiser removes the untangling ritual permanently.

  • Bellroy Tech Kit (around £50–£60): The benchmark tech organiser. Opens flat, elastic loops for cables, dedicated slots for small chargers and earbuds, internal zipper for SD cards or SIMs. Compact enough for a jacket pocket, organised enough to replace the bottom-of-bag chaos.
  • Ekster Cable Organiser (around £35–£45): Slightly slimmer than the Bellroy, high-quality zipper, well-sized for one laptop charger + 2–3 cables.
  • Knomo Cable Organiser (around £25–£35): More affordable entry into the category. Good enough for the occasional traveller who doesn’t need premium.

2. Multi-region travel adapter (a small thing that matters a lot)

A cheap adapter breaks. A good adapter outlasts a decade of travel.

  • Zendure Passport III (around £40–£55): 4 USB-A + 1 USB-C, 65W, coverage for 200+ countries, compact form factor, no grounding adapter needed. The current benchmark.
  • Belkin Travel Adapter (around £30–£45): Reliable, widely available, Belkin’s quality control is consistent. Good for the traveller who wants a brand he trusts.
  • Native Union Travel Adapter (around £35–£50): Premium aesthetic, fewer USB ports, better suited to the design-conscious packer.

3. Leather luggage tag (the most overlooked upgrade)

At most airports, luggage tags are either plastic from the airline or a paper receipt slipped into a plastic sleeve. A full-grain leather tag costs under £60 and lasts twenty years.

  • Aspinal of London Luggage Tag (around £35–£55): Clean, British, monogrammable, full-grain leather. The standard recommendation.
  • Ettinger Leather Tag (around £30–£50): Heritage British brand, bridle leather option, brass hardware.
  • AirTag leather holder (around £30–£55): Combines a luggage tag with an Apple AirTag slot. Multiple leather-goods makers now make these; search for full-grain leather rather than bonded.

4. Packing cubes (worth the investment for carry-on travel)

The gap between using packing cubes and not using them is larger than most people expect until they try them.

  • Bellroy Packable Tote Set (around £40–£60): Lightweight, compresses well, comes in useful sizes. Good for the minimalist packer.
  • Peak Design Packing Cubes (around £50–£80/set): Outstanding construction, flat when empty, standard and half-size available. The premium option for frequent travellers.
  • Eagle Creek Pack-It Specter Compression (around £25–£40 each): The compression mechanism adds meaningful extra volume in the same bag. Popular with carry-on-only travellers.
  • CALPAK Terrazzo (around £35–£50/set): Strong aesthetic, well-made, three-size sets cover most trips.

5. Slim travel wallet or document organiser

Carrying a passport plus multiple cards plus travel insurance in different pockets is avoidable. A slim travel wallet organises all of it.

  • Bellroy Travel Wallet (around £60–£80): Slim, holds passport + cards + note + SIM cards. The right size for business travel without the overstuffed zip-around look.
  • Smythson Panama Zip Travel Wallet (around £150–£200): Premium leather, British brand, room for passport, cards, currency. The standout choice for the quality-focused traveller.
  • Secrid RFID Slim Wallet (around £60–£80): Metal RFID sleeve for cards, slimmer than most, good for the minimal packer.

6. Portable battery / power bank

The travel accessory he’ll miss most if he doesn’t have it.

  • Anker 737 Power Bank (around £80–£100): 24,000mAh, 140W max output, charges laptops. The choice for long-haul and remote travel.
  • Anker 622 Magnetic Battery (around £35–£45): Slim, MagSafe-compatible (iPhone), pocketable. Best for urban or one-day travel where a phone top-up is enough.
  • Zendure SuperMini (around £40–£55): The smallest high-capacity option. 10,000mAh in a palm-sized form.

7. Noise-cancelling headphones

Worth its own category. See the travel gift guide for full detail — but if he’s travelling more than twice a month without top-tier ANC headphones, that’s the accessory with the highest impact.

Travel accessories to skip (or buy carefully)

  • Travel pillow neck cushions: Most high-quality ones are bulky; most compact ones don’t work. Only worth it for very regular long-haul. Trtl Pillow is the compact exception.
  • Travel locks and cables: Only needed for hostels or extended checked luggage. A TSA-approved padlock is enough.
  • Travel wallets with 40+ card slots: Bulk creates more problem than the organisation solves. Aim for the slimmest wallet that fits the essentials.
  • In-flight compression socks (on medical advice only): If a doctor recommends them, buy them — if not, they’re often unnecessary.
  • Universal remote locks: Almost never used. If he’s travelling to places that warrant one, he’ll know.

Best pick by friction point

Problem Best accessory
Cables always tangled Bellroy Tech Kit
Always running out of adapters Zendure Passport III
Bag always overstuffed Peak Design or Eagle Creek packing cubes
Passport always in wrong pocket Bellroy Travel Wallet
Phone always dying at the airport Anker 622 Magnetic Battery
Luggage looks like everyone else’s Leather luggage tag, monogrammed

How to choose in under a minute

1. What’s the biggest friction point in his current travel kit? Start there, not with what looks impressive. 2. Does he travel carry-on or checked? Carry-on: packing cubes are the highest-impact buy. Checked: a quality luggage tag matters more. 3. Does he have good headphones? If not, that’s the accessory with the largest day-to-day impact. 4. What’s his adapter situation? A good multi-region adapter with USB-C PD is worth owning regardless of how frequently he travels.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best travel accessories for men? A quality cable organiser (Bellroy Tech Kit), a multi-region adapter (Zendure Passport III), packing cubes (Peak Design), a slim travel wallet, and a leather luggage tag. These are the five accessories that earn use on every trip and make the biggest difference to a chaotic travel kit.

Are packing cubes worth it? Yes — for carry-on travellers especially. A good set of cubes makes a carry-on bag hold more, stay organised between locations, and unpack faster at the hotel. The difference is immediately obvious once you use them properly.

What’s the best travel adapter for Europe and the US? The Zendure Passport III covers both and most other destinations, with USB-C PD and multiple USB-A ports in a compact form. It’s the standout recommendation at under £55.

What’s a good travel accessory under £50? A leather luggage tag (around £35–£50), a cable organiser (around £35–£45), or a single compression packing cube (around £25–£40). All three earn daily use on every trip.

What travel accessories do frequent business travellers swear by? In order of consistency: noise-cancelling headphones, a cable organiser, packing cubes, a quality travel adapter, and a slim travel wallet. These five address the five most common friction points in business travel.

Are travel gadgets worth buying? Rarely. Most travel gadgets solve a problem that comes up infrequently (a universal remote lock, a water purification bottle, a rain poncho that packs to nothing) or duplicate something he already has on his phone. The accessories worth buying are the boring, daily-use ones — the cables, the cubes, the adapters.

The bottom line

The best travel accessories are the ones that remove friction on every trip, not the ones that solve edge-case problems or look impressive in a flat-lay. A good cable organiser, a reliable adapter, quality packing cubes, a slim travel wallet, and a leather luggage tag will make every trip meaningfully smoother. Buy the best version of each. Skip anything that won’t earn its keep on the next ten trips.